


What Would Mother Say

by fresne



Series: Eid Mubārak [6]
Category: Folkore, Original Work
Genre: Community: eid_fic, Community: eid_ka_chand, Eid ul-Fitr, Gen, Horse/Dragon, Pre-Slash, f/f - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-19
Updated: 2015-07-19
Packaged: 2018-04-10 03:44:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4375970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fresne/pseuds/fresne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Azhdaha lived next to a spring that flowed into a small green pool halfway up Mount Al Jaz'har. It was a good place to live. Remote and far from where people were. The caves in the mountain were very comfortable. Especially once Azhdaha ate the wizard who lived in them. He'd tried to capture her, but she was a dragon. Not a djinn for a bottle.</p><p>She was sunning herself on her favorite ledge, when she saw a lone traveller on a beautiful red-gold mare ride up the dusty narrow trail. His clothing was fine, but worn and his mare's saddle was richly decorated, but not well cared for. Azhdaha wondered about their history, but knew that if she did end up eating them, she shouldn't dwell. Her Mother had always said not a good idea to make up stories or play games with dinner. </p><p>Then again, she'd long since left being a hatchling behind.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What Would Mother Say

**Author's Note:**

> A day or so late, but here's this year's Eid Fic.
> 
> The following may be considered as inspiration for my work and inspiration for my dialogue:  
> Not sure if you read it, but there was a Golden Dragon book, the fic here is based on it. If I can find my copy, I'll give a better ref.

Azhdaha lived next to a spring that flowed into a small green pool halfway up Mount Al Jaz'har. It was a good place to live. Remote and far from where people were. The caves in the mountain were very comfortable. Especially once Azhdaha ate the wizard who lived in them. Normally, she liked to eat deer or mountain goats, but he'd tried to capture her and her Mother had taught her never to leave an enemy at her back.

When she'd still been wandering, and she'd come across a large group of humans, she left them alone. It wasn't as if she was a leviathan of the sea, capable of swallowing a ship in one bite, or even one of those greater dragons who breathed fire. She was just a little drake. Hardly larger than a human if she didn't count her wings. Her bite put her prey to sleep, but that didn't help when there were a hundred humans with bows. Azhdaha had taken an arrow in her thigh once. She didn't care to repeat that experience. But mostly she ate things that didn't try to kill her back.

She was still content from her last meal and sunning herself on her favorite ledge, when she saw a lone traveller on a beautiful red-gold mare ride up the dusty narrow trail. His clothing was fine, but worn and his mare's saddle was richly decorated, but not well cared for. Azhdaha wondered about their history, but knew that if she did end up eating them, she shouldn't dwell. Her Mother had always said not a good idea to make up stories or play games with dinner. 

The sun had just reached high noon and the wind made a call for prayer. The mare bowed in the direction of Mecca, while the man tugged at her lead and yelled. Only after her prayers were done would the mare follow allow herself to be led up to the caves above. Once there, he hobbled her and set off into the caves with a torch. Azhdaha wafted down on a thermal to a new perch for a better view. She wanted to follow him into the cave to see what he was looking for, but she could hear her Mother's voice in her head reminding her that she wasn't invulnerable to fire. Azhdaha settled down to watch the mare, who glowed in the sunlight like gold as she stood to provide shade to a small mouse, stepped carefully to avoid crushing a lizard and prayed two more times by the time the man emerged from the cave. 

Azhdaha was no more immune to gold than others of her kind. Even if unlike the males of her kind, she'd never been one to collect it.

The mare's every movement was graceful as a light in the sky. Her Master was less than graceful and cursed as he built up a fire in the mouth of the cave.

Azhdaha wondered if he realized that it would fill the cave with smoke.

He made camp in the mouth of the cave. He poked at his fire irritably, while his mare gazed down at the pool longingly. 

Azhdaha waited until he went to sleep and then she waited a little longer, before creeping slowly over the rocks to get a better look.

The mare whinnied, "Master, Prince Ali, wake up! There is a great serpent coming to eat you. Wake up!"

Azhdaha went still and using one of the wizard's charms, gathered up a shadow over herself so that she seemed a part of the darkness.

Prince Ali sat up. "Ziyadi, quiet." He blinked into the darkness. "Stupid horse." He added a branch to the fire and lay down again.

Azhdaha waited a long time. Long enough for the round moon to rise. She set aside the shadow and crept forward.

Ziyadi whinnied, "Master, Prince Ali, you're in danger! There is a dragon approaching. Wake up!"

This time Prince Ali didn't even sit up. He said, in a very conversational sort of way, "If you weren't the only thing of value that I have left after that dog of a Vizier took my throne, so help me…" He rolled over and dragged his blanket over his head.

Azhdaha crept forward a third time and again Ziyadi whinnied a warning.

Prince Ali grumbled, "Fine!" He got up and put on his boots. He relit his torch. "I may as well keep looking." He set off into the cave.

Ziyadi walked slowly, hobbled as she was, into the centre of the cave mouth. She said, "Please, I am bound with love for all living things to serve without thought of return. It was I who carried Prince Ali from the palace on the night his Vizier overthrew his family. I did it to give him time to turn away from the pleasures of the world. If you must eat one of us, eat me rather than my Master. It is still possible that he will turn away from the cave and go down to the pool below."

Azhdaha could not help it. She was curious. "How will that help him? Beyond not being thirsty that is." The water from the pool was very refreshing.

Ziyadi flicked the long line of her red gold tail. In the firelight, it looked like a blaze of falling stars. "When we started this journey, I led us to many holy places. But he only prayed that Allah would restore him to his father's throne. Then he heard of this cave, where a powerful wizard once lived. But no good can come of his search. That wizard served the Lord of Dawn and practiced black magic as well as white. While the pool below was once blessed by Rabi'a, beloved of Allah."

"If it's any comfort, the wizard was delicious." Azhdaha came closer. "For that matter, so is the water from the spring."

Ziyadi's eyes were wide and limpid. The flesh along her neck shivered, but she kept it stretched out. Azhdaha could practically hear her Mother scolding her and telling her to kill the mare quickly. But she'd long ago left aside her hatchling shell.. "I'm Azhdaha. If you'd like, I can cut your hobble. Then you could drink from the pool."

Ziyadi's ears flicked. "Yes! As long as this isn't a trick to eat my Master, Prince Ali."

"No, trick. I'm not really that hungry." Azhdaha slashed a claw through Ziyadi's hobble and the rope parted easily.

They went down to the pool. Ziyadi drank and lay down to pray. Azhdaha had never seen any horse behave so. Azhdaha crouched beside her. She said, "Who was this Rabi'a?"

"Oh, she was a Sufi woman of great wisdom. My favorite story about her is that she was once ran through the streets holding a torch in one hand and a bucket of water in the other. Because she wanted to burn paradise and put out the fires, so that the servants of Allah would seek Allah without thought of reward or punishment, but just because." Ziyadi was full of excitement as she talked about the saint. Azhdaha liked the sound of that joy. It was pleasant after long years of wandering.

Ziyadi was still talking as there was a loud boom from the cave and a fiery djinn shot out of the cave mouth clutching the screaming Prince Ali by one leg. The djinn quickly disappeared in the direction of the breaking dawn.

"Huh," said Azhdaha, "He must have found the bottle where the wizard had trapped the djinn. That wizard really did like to trap things."

Ziyadi stood up and craned her neck as if this would help her see through the mountain. "Oh, no. We must rescue him from the djinn."

"We?" asked Azhdaha. "Why would I rescue him? I was thinking I might eat him earlier tonight."

Ziyadi blinked at her.

"He's probably fine. I saw that he had the bottle. As soon he stops screaming, he can command djinn to do anything he wishes. His power is by now limitless. By now, he might be sitting in a palace eating dates or whatever it is humans do."

"Oh, then, it's all the more important that we go." Ziyadi tossed her mane. "He'll return to his old kingdom to no ones good." She lightly scraped the sand around the pool. "Please, will you help me."

Azhdaha groaned. Because she knew there was little chance she'd be able to resist the look Ziyadi was giving her. She grumbled, "I should have eaten you."

"But Allah moved you not to," said Ziyadi with a flick of her tail.

Azhdaha blew out a harsh breath and wished for not the first time that she was a fire breathing dragon. "Wait here for me. I'll be right back." She went into the cave and picked out two amulets. Then after some thinking, she took all of the wizard's charms. There was no sense in leaving them lying around.

Ziyadi shied away when Azhdaha tried to put an amulet around her right front leg. "It's a tool of black magic."

Azhdaha slapped Ziyadi's side. "Stay still. I can't carry you, and this will grant you the power to shift your shape and grow wings." She rolled her eyes. "Look, surely it was put in your path so that you could go rescue your master?"

Ziyadi grudgingly agreed and let Azhdaha put the amulet on her leg. There was a flash of light and Ziyadi became a brilliant golden bird with long burning plumes.

"Huh, I didn't expect you to pick phoenix, but sure." Azhdaha flapped her own wings and they set off in the direction of Prince Ali's old kingdom. She could almost forget that she was on a quest to save an ill tempered prince. The moon was high and the wind carried the perfume of distant rain on the desert. Her heart hummed and she felt the joy of being alive under the wide spill of stars.

Ziyadi called out, "It's beautiful."

Azhdaha laughed her answer and swooped on the sweet breeze.

Eventually the moon set and the burning ball of fire that was the sun rose, and the journey became harsher. But Azhdaha had a charm to find springs and Ziyadi was always happy to stop at the ones that had blessed by this or that saint. She knew all sorts of stories, which were often much funnier than she seemed to realize. Azhdaha liked the one about the teacher throwing rocks at his students as a lesson in being careful about promising to always be there for someone. Humans were such fickle creatures.

But even that pleasant time ended, as they came to a city in a river valley. A perfect conical mountain of gold marble towered over the city. A great golden palace perched on the top. Azhdaha said, "See. I told you. Prince Ali is fine."

"Everyone is in peril. For there are three kinds of people in the world. Those who bind their hands at the wrist to serve with love, those who bind them together to pray for reward in the next life, and those who reach out only for pleasure. Prince Ali has always numbered in the third group." Ziyadi transformed into a golden skinned woman with long flowing red gold hair. "I must tell him that he must free himself of the trap of the djinn's power."

Azhdaha eyed Ziyadi's bared body. "In that shape, I'm not sure he'll listen."

Ziyadi smiled. "I will be like the needle, who does its work naked or the wax that burns to bring others light."

"Hmmm… even living in a cave, I know that a man's little head has no ears." After some thought, Azhdaha used a charm to take the shape of a black skinned woman with short curling hair that stuck out in tufts as the spikes on her head had done. She drew shadows together to make black robes for the both of them.

Ziyadi was now clothed in shadow, but her happiness still shone from her face. She put her hand on Azhdaha's arm. "You have been of great help on this journey." She pressed a kiss to Azhdaha's newly soft cheek. "Thank you."

Azhdaha tried to look annoyed, but could only be glad that Ziyadi couldn't tell that her soft cheeks were burning. They went in through the front gate. The walls of the golden palace were somewhat ominously decorated with impaled bodies or still living men crouched in cages. Azhdaha sniffed. She didn't see the point of killing someone if you weren't going to eat them. 

Ziyadi sighed. "Oh, Prince Ali. Vengeance is a serpent that bites its own tail."

"Although," Azhdaha felt compelled to add, "killing your enemies means they can't do you any more wrongs."

She could practically hear her Mother saying, "Better an enemy in the belly than one at your back." Azhdaha sighed. She missed her Mother sometimes and wished that she could visit without being attacked over her life choices, or territorial issues.

Ziyadi tossed her hair, in much the way she'd tossed her mane, but did not reply. As they walked through the corridors, they passed many women walking down rich marble halls or sitting on silken couches. They came to an inner courtyard. One woman in a red silk robe noticed them and said to a woman in green and gold brocade, "More concubines. How many of us are there?"

"I'm not sure. But the more of us there are, the more time we have to ourselves," said the woman in the green and gold brocade robe. She was spinning wool into yarn. "I've made three scarves since the djinn kidnapped me and not yet had to meet Shah Ali. So, I say, welcome. The more concubines the better. Do either of you weave?" 

"Oh, I'm not a concubine. I'm descended from one of the Prophet's own mares. Not that I take pride in that," added Ziyadi hastily.

"Uh," said the woman in the red silk robe.

"What?" said the woman in green and gold.

"She's a horse. I'm a dragon. We're here to rescue Prince Ali from a life of debauchery and pleasure. And now that I think about it, all of you as well. Which way to Prince...Shah Ali?" Azhdaha flapped a hand and then was momentarily struck by how flimsy her hands were now that they were hands.

The red silk woman said, "I'm not sure. I heard this morning he was watching his djinn kill and revive his enemies." 

A woman in a blue sari said, "No, that was earlier this week. Today, he was having his djinn move a mountain that was blocking his view of the valley."

"No, no, no, that was yesterday. I keep telling you today was moving the river. Yesterday was the mountain," said a woman all in what had to be a very uncomfortable outfit of silver chains.

"That poor, djinn," said a woman in plain white. "There are hundreds of us, and we can take comfort with each other. But there's only one djinn and its all alone. I feel sorry for it." 

"Zie," said Azhdaha. "The pronoun is zie when talking about djinn. The bottle zie was trapped in was an it." 

While Ziyadi almost vibrated out of her own skin. "We must find him and dissuade him from this path!"

"That's not going to work," said Azhdaha. Still they'd come all this way, and something had to be done. 

They picked a hall at random. After passing opulent room after opulent room, Azhdaha felt compelled to say, "Normally, I'd have no problem with piles of gold, but this is bizarre. It's as if he commanded the djinn to bring him all the gold."

Ziyadi sighed. "It was always so. His family have always been like magpies, taking what wealth they could to themselves. That is why Vizier Jaha overthrew Prince Ali and his father, the Shah. They gathered wealth in the midst of famine."

"Charming," said Azhdaha.

Finally, they came to a vast room, where a djinn was simultaneously directing magical instruments that played by themselves and floating plate after golden plate to Prince Ali, who said, "You promised me something unusual. What's special about the pickled elephant feet pickled for a hundred years? I asked for roast Phoenix."

Ziyadi inhaled, but Azhdaha elbowed her. Ziyadi rubbed her arm. "I wasn't going to offer."

"Right," said Azhdaha, who missed her eye ridges. These human eyes weren't very good at rolling. Though this shape had the benefit that Prince Ali wasn't setting the djinn on them.

The djinn, who was looked ready to pull out ziers flame colored hair, said, "As Your Gracious Majesty," Prince Ali held up a hand holding the djinns bottle, and the djinn's expression took on a banked expression, "on whom all glory shines," Prince Ali smiled and waved the bottle for the djinn to continue, "may recall, you ate the flesh of the Phoenix last night after you became hungry from smoking the leaves of the Tree of Life."

This didn't seem to prompt any memory from Prince Ali.

But it did cause Ziyadi to cry out, "Prince Ali, you must put aside this life of pleasure for it feeds all that is ill within your soul. Better you should withdraw to a cave and eat locusts than live as you are now. Your desire binds you as surely as the seal of Sulieman binds the djinn outside of ziers natural place."

"Why are there concubines while I'm trying to eat? I didn't ask for a concubine?" Prince Ali's brow wrinkled. "Did I?" He waved the bottle in Ziyadi's direction. "The sound of her voice is giving me a headache. She sounds like our old Vizier. Djinn, give her more pleasing words."

With a banked look, the djinn brushed Ziyadi's throat and heart and what came out of Ziyadi's mouth after that were expressions of desire. 

Ziyadi's hand flew to her throat. She tried again three times. But only managed to beg for Prince Ali to mount her in three different ways. She covered her mouth with her hands. 

Azhdaha smiled. She even showed her dull human teeth. She was no leviathan of the deep to swallow a ship in a single swallow. She was no fire breathing great dragon.She was just a drake, who must rely on her wits. She put aside the shadow she was wearing and came closer without asking.

Prince Ali smiled as she approached.

Ziyadi stamped the ground as if her foot was a hoof. But she didn't change into her natural shape. Perhaps she hoped for her own words to be returned to her. 

Azhdaha came close enough to the Prince for a kiss and as she embraced him in a very intimate way, she resumed her natural shape and bit him. He tried to cry out a command, but it came out only as a garbled cry as her poison took effect. Soon, he was asleep. She ought to break his neck. Her Mother would certainly have done it and eaten him gladly. Her Mother would never have come on this quest. She picked up the bottle from Prince Ali's slack hand.

"What is your wish, Mistress?" said the djinn with ziers blue tattoos shifting across ziers face.

Ziyadi resumed her own shape, but kept silent.

Azhdaha said, "I wish for you to take the Prince to pool below the ave where he found you and fill in the wizard's part of the cave while you're there." The djinn lifted Prince Ali up easily in ziers massive arms and carried him away in a blaze. 

Ziyadi tried to say something coherent as she went through a dozen forms. But none of them were her words of her own. Azhdaha said, "Please, stop." 

After what seemed a long wait, the djinn returned. Zie crossed ziers arms. "What is your wish, Mistress?"

"Give my friend back her voice." The djinn was swift to give Ziyadi another burning touch, and turned back to Azhdaha. Before zie could say anything, Azhdaha tossed zier the bottle engraved with the seal of Sulieman. "Be free and don't let another wizard capture you."

The djinn did not linger. A flame and a flash and then gone. They were alone again.

Azhdaha said, "So… yeah." She wasn't interesting in taking up residence in her old home with a surly prince. She wanted something she couldn't yet define.

In the echoing large room, Ziyadi looked small. She pawed the tiled floor with a trim hoof. Finally, she said, "I was thinking that while the Prince is… meditating on the sins of the world, I might travel to holy places. Would you like to…"

"Keep you out of trouble." Azhdaha thought about it. "Hmm…. get you out of trouble. Someone should. Clearly Allah put me in your path to do so." Azhdaha padded across the tile floor and brushed the tip of a wing along Ziyadi's flank.

Ziyadi shiverd and that was fine. In the city below, a hundred different voices from a hundred towers called the faithful to prayer. They turned towards Mecca for a time.  
Together, they set out from the palace, down to the city below, and into the mountains beyond.

**Author's Note:**

> If after reading my fiction here, you would like to read more about me and my writing check out my profile.


End file.
